Arkansas Ranks 7th in Road Fatalities Per Capita

A recent study shows that Arkansas ranks 7th in the United States in fatalities resulting from road crashes. In 2013, Arkansas had 16.3 road deaths for every 100,000 in population. By way of comparison, Montana was the highest (22.6 per 100,000) and Utah was lowest (7.6 per 100,000). Overall, there are 32,719 fatalities in the United States resulting from road crashes.

So, what’s the cause? Are we Arkansans really that bad at driving? Not necessarily. An analysis of the study shows that states with higher road crash death rates had lower density (in other words, those states were more rural). One could surmise that this means people in those states travel more (because they have to travel farther to get places). Economist Jed Kolko created a chart which showed that the more miles driven per capita, the higher the car crash fatality rate per capita. Here’s a look at his chart, which he tweeted last month:

Regardless of the reason for the high fatality rate, this is an area where Arkansas doesn’t want to be in the top 10. Fortunately, as we pointed out in a recent blog post, we are headed in the right direction on this. So, drive slowly, don’t drink and drive, and don’t text and drive.

Little Rock, Arkansas Personal Injury Attorney Andy Taylor

If you have been injured in an auto accident in Arkansas, you should have your case evaluated by a personal injury attorney who is experienced at handling personal injury claims in Arkansas. Our attorneys represent clients from all over Arkansas.

If you or a family member has been injured in a car wreck, give Andy Taylor or Tasha Taylor a call today for a FREE case evaluation at 501.246.8004. There’s no attorney’s fee unless we recover for you.